Electric-arc lamp



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. H. J. HAINES 8u A. B. FERNALD. ELECTRIC ARG LAMP.

Patented Aug' (No Model.)

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(No Model.)

No. 544,578. Patented Aug. 13,1895.

@fain HMM@ da. Ef'erfm' UNITED STATES `PATENT OEErcE.

JOHN H. J. HAINES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AND ALEXANDER B. FERNALD,

OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRIC-ARC LAMP.

SPECIFICATIONfOrming part of Letters Patent No. 544,578, dated August13, 1895.

Application filed November 20, 1894:. Serial No. 529,380. (No model.) v

To all whom t may con/cern.:

Be it known that we, JOHN I-I. J. HAINES, residing at New York, in thecounty of New York and State of New York, and ALEXAN- DER B. FERNALD,residing` at Jersey City, in the county of I-Iudson and State of NewJersey, citizens of the United Staies,-have in'- vented a certain newand useful Arc Lamp, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to feeding mechanism for electric-arc lamps, andhas for its object the construction of a feeding and a feedregulatingdevice which shall be constant and steady in its action, and which shallbe operable upon aeontinuous-current circuit or upon analternating-current circuit.

To this end my invention consists inthe combination, with a screw-formedcarbon-carrier held against rotation while allowed to reciprocate, of anut on said carrier adapted to be freely rotated by the movementthereof, and provided with an extended friction-surface with which afriction-detent engages for the purpose of regulating the movement ofthe carbon-carrier by effecting a gradual decrease in the rotation ofthe nut as it comes to rest upon a fixed support and a gradual increasein the rotation thereof as it is lifted from said support, therebymaintaining an even feed.

It also consists in the construction and cornbination of parts, ashereinafter described andclaimed. l

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation,partially in section, of a lamp constructed to be operated upon analternating-current circuit. Fig. 2 is a plan of said lamp. Fig. 3 is apartial sectionized side elevation taken at an angle of ninety degreesfrom the position seen in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section throughthe feeding mechanism of the lamp, taken in the plane, represented bythe line 4 4 in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the same feedingmechanism applied toa continuous-circuit lamp. Fig. 6 is a plan of saidlamp, the upper plate being removed. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of adetail of the feeding mechanism, as shown in Fig. 5.

In Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings, S represents the base of the lamp,which may be made of any suitable insulating material, but preferably ofslate. From the base depends side rods 9, one of which, as usual, may bemade hollow for the insertion of the conductor leading to the lowercarbon. The lower-carbon holder is supported from a cross-piece joiningsaid rods and may be of any suitable construction. It is here shown,however, as consisting of a clamp 7, screwed upon the end of a bolt 6,passing through a boss in the crosspiece considerably larger than thebolt and insulated from said cross-piece at the top by a slate'bushing 5and at the bottom by an asbestos washer 4. A screw 3 is inserted in saidbolt for clamping the wire 2 leading to the lower carbon.

Upon the upper side of the base rests the frame for the feedingmechanism, which consists of the lower plate lO and the upper plate 1l,supported upon the posts 12. This frame is secured to the base ot`,thelamp by means of the hollow bolt 13 audits nut 14. Through this hollownut and the upper plate 11 passes the upper-carbon carrier or rod 15. Tothis is attached the carbon-holder 16, of any preferred form. Thiscarbon carrier is screwthreaded throughout its entire length, which,thread isof a pitch sufficiently coarse to allow it to rotate by its owngravity through a nut held stationary. Upon this screw-threaded rod isplaced a nut, as 17, shown provided with a flange 18.

In practice the screw-threaded carrier, instead of rotating as itdescends through the nut, is held stationary by any suitable means,

such as a spline and groove, while the nut is allowed to rotate, and bythe regulation of the rotation of the nut the descent of said carrier iscontrolled. The spline and groove may be arranged in any suitablemanner, but we have shown the spline as formed in the hollow nut 13, asat 19, and the groove formed longitudinally of the carrier parallel tothe axis thereof, as at 20.

For controlling the rotation of nut 13 any suitable restraining devicemay beemployed.

other than the one shown, which is intended to operate-by friction-uponthe flange 1S. This device consists of a bar 21, supported verticallyand adapted to reciprocate through ways formed in the upper and lowerplates ICO 11 and 10, upon which bar are located projections 22 and 23,passing at either side of the flange 18. The bar 21 is moved by means ofa lever 24, shown pivoted in lugs 25, depending from the upper plate 11.It passes through an aperture in bar 21, and is pivoted to the core 2Gof magnet 27, here shown as a solenoid. At the opposite end of saidlever is attached a counterbalaucingweight 28, and also one end of adash-pot 29, which is pivoted at its other end to lugs rising from thelower plate 10. From this it will be seen that any movement of the core26 will cause a movement of the bar 21. A suitable stop, as 30, is shownas connected to the posts 12 for limiting the upward movement of the nut17, particularly at the time of trimming. In trimming, the manipulationof the feeding mechanism to release the upper-carbon carrier is usuallyeffected by means of a rod 31,

pivoted to the lever 24, and extending through an aperture in the base 3to the under side thereof. The circuit of this lamp, as indicated inFig. 2, is from the source of supply through magnet 27 to the frame,from the frame by brush 32 to the upper-carbon carrier, thence throughthe carbons to the insulated conductor extending through the hol low rod9, and to the source of supply.

The operation of the feeding mechanism is as follows: Said mechanismbeing substantially in the position shown with the carbone together, thecurrent on being turned on will draw core 26 down and bar 21 up, causingprojection 23 from said bar to engage the under side of the flange 18,between which there will be sufficient friction to prevent the nut 17from rotating, and so lift the carrier l5 until the proper length of arcis produced. Then as the arc lengthens the core will rise from themagnet, the bar 2l will descend until the nut rests upon the surface ofnut 13, when the further descent of bar 21 will lessen the frictionbetween parts 23 and 18 sufficiently to allow the nut to rotate and thecarrier to descend. When the proper length of arc is obtained the rod 2lwill be slightly raised to check the rotation of nut 18. By theadjustment of weight 28 a proper balance of the parts is attained, andby the use of the dash-pot 29 the too sudden operation of the feedingmechanismis prevented. Projection 22 upon bar 21 acts as a limiting-stopto prevent, by engaging the upper surface of disk 1S, the rapid whirlingand consequent risc of nut 17 upon the carrier when the rapid descent ofthe carrier is stopped by the carbons coming together. In this way thenut is retained in proper position for immediate engagement byprojection 23 upon an increase of current through the magnet, thusfacilitating the striking of the are. The rotation of nut 17 is alsoimpeded when at rest upon nut 13 by the friction between it and nut 13.y

In the trimming operation a rod 31, which is attached to lever 24E andpasses down through the base, is pushed up, causing bar 21 to descendand disengage the friction device from the nut, when the carbon-carriermay be readily manipulated. When bar 2l is at its lowest pointprojection 23 rests upon the plate 10 and nut 17 upon nut 13, the iiange1S being' at that instant free from engagement by either of projections22 or 23.

In the continuouscurrent-circuit lamp shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the feedingmechanism is more simple than that already described. In this lamp themagnet 33 maybe variously located, but is here shown secured to theupper plate, in which position its core 31 tends to fall out of themagnet- To this core is pivoted a lever 35, which is split to pass thecarboncarrier 15, and is pivoted at 36 in a bracket 37 upon the post 3S.The short end of lever 35 passes into an aperature formed in thereciprocating bar 21, whose lower guide is in bracket 37 and whose upperguide is in a bracket 39 upon post 3S. In this lamp magnet 33 is shownin a shunt-circnit, the main circuit of the lamp being from a source ofsupply to the frame of the feeding mechanism, thence by brush 32 to thecarbon-carrier 15 through the carbons and back to the source through theinsulated wire in rod 9, the shunt extending from the brush through thecoil of magnet 33 to the insulated conductor as it leaves rod 9.

The operation of this lamp is as follows: The parts of the feedingmechanism being in position substantially as show11,with the carbonsseparated, the current being turned on, it is obvious will be throughthe shunt-exciting magnet 33, which on drawing up its core will tilt thelever 35, lower rod 21 until nut 17 rests upon nut 13, and rod 21 upondescending a little farther will discngagc projection 23 from flange 1Sand come in contact with the lower plate 10 before projection 22 canstrike flange 13, thereby leaving nut 17 to rotate, with no otherhinderance than the friction between it and nut 13. As the current thenflows through the main circuit, core 33 will gradually descend, bringingprojection 23 into engagement with flange 1S, thereby preventing therotation of nut 17 and lifting the nut and carboncarrier as said coredescends. When the arc begins to lengthen the core will again begradually drawn up and the upper carbon fed down. In this lamp I alsoprovide a rod 31 connected to lever 35 or to the core 34, so that bypushing said rod upwardly the restraint upon nut 17 may be released andthe carrier easily manipulated. The means for retarding the rotation ofnut 17 may be greatly varied in form, location, and operation withoutdeparting from the gist of the invention involved in this feature, whichresides in a suitable detent, clamping device, friction device, or likerestraining means acting upon nut 17 to govern its rotation and soregulate the feeding of the upper carbon and assist in striking the arc.XVe have shown this special plan of IOC' feeding as adapted to the twoprincipal'forms of arc lamps, but do not lay any stress upon' thelocation ofthe controlling-magnet or the lmanner of inserting the samein the circuit of the lamp.

In the shunt shown in Fig. 5 any of the usual forms of cut-out may beused, the insertion and operation of which are well understood byelectricians, and are therefore not shown.

VVhat we claim as our invention is 1. In an electric aro lamp, thecombination with a carbon carrier in the form of a reciprocatingnon-rotating screw, of a nut rotated by the reciprocation of the carrierand provided with an extended flange, a iixed support upon which saidnut may rest during the free descent of the carrier, a reciprocatingfriction detent adapted to engage said tiange near its periphery, andmeans for regulating the engagement between said detent and iiange so asto effect a gradual decrease in the rotation of said nut as it is liftedfrom its fixed support and to effect a gradual increase in itsrotationas it is lowered upon said support, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an electric arc lamp, the combination with a carbon carrier in theform of a reciprocatin g non-rotatin g screw and a nut rotated by thereciprocation of said carrier and provided with a flange, ofareciprocating bar connected to and operated by the controllingv magnetof the lamp, a projection upon said bar for engaging one surface of saidflange for lifting the nut and carrier, and another proj ection on saidbar for engaging the opposite surface of said iange to limit the rise ofthe nut on the carrier, as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In an electric arc lamp, t'ne combination with a carbon carrier inthe form of a reciprocating non-rotating screw and a nut rotated by thereci procation of said carrier and provided with a friction surface, ofa reciprocating bar provided with a projection for engaging saidfriction surface, and a lever pivoted tothe frame of the lamp andconnected to said bar and to the movable part of the controlling magnetof the lamp, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In an electric arc lamp, the combination with a carbon carrier in theform of a reciprocating non-rotating screw and a nut rotated by thereciprocation of said carrier and provided with a friction surface, of areciproeating bar provided with a projection for engaging said frictionsurface, a counterbalanced lever pivoted to the frame of the lamp andconnected to said bar and to the movable part of the controlling magnet,and a dashpot connected to said lever, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In an electric aro lamp, the combination with the base, of a framefor the feeding mechanism, ahollow bolt connecting said base and frameand provided with a spline on its inner surface, a carbon carrier in theform of a screw passing through said bolt and provided with a grooveextending longitudinally thereof to receive said spline, a `nut free torotate upon said carrier, and means for regulating the rotation of saidnut, substantially as set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 17th day of November, A. D. 1894.

JOHN H. J. HAINES. ALEXANDER B. FERNAIID.

Witnesses:

WM. H. CAPEL, HENRY I. HiRsoHY.

